Turkish customers visit Cobb in US

Sen Pilic, one of the market leaders in the Turkish poultry industry, was among a group of producers to visit Cobb-Vantress in Arkansas, USA.

They bought their first flock of Cobb parent stock earlier this year and together with two other Turkish customers — HasTavuk and Bu Pilic — they received an update on Cobb broiler performance at Cobb-Vantress headquarters in Siloam Springs.

“The customers were particularly interested in information about the high yield of Cobb 500 broilers and at a Tyson Foods processing plant they saw how to maximise this yield,” said Wout van Wolfswinkel, parent stock sales manager of Cobb Europe.

Another part of the program centered on biosecurity and how to minimize risk of salmonella contamination. The group visited the Cobb Vantress feed mill in Siloam Springs, Arkansas to witness the company’s strict biosecurity rules in practice.

Müjdat Sezer, chairman of Has Tavuk, said their company is planning to open a new processing plant next year and the Tyson plant visit was particularly valuable for them.

Earlier this year Cobb Europe bought a hatchery in the Bandirma area of Turkey, and by the end of 2012 Cobb parent stock will be produced locally and supplied direct into the market.